Communication is an instrument of resistance, struggle, and defense of territories. In Roraima, this movement also involves the work of indigenous journalists and communicators who, from their own territories and experiences, help tell stories that, for a long time, were told by other people and narrated from the outside in.
It is in this context that the "Poranga Marandúa: Writing Manual of Indigenous Journalism" arrived in Roraima. The launch took place on Thursday night (20), in the Auditorium of the Graduate Program in Society and Borders (PPGSOF) of the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), in Boa Vista. The event was held by the Journalism Course and the Graduate Program in Communication at UFRR (PPGCOM/UFRR), in partnership with the Brazilian Articulation of Indigenous Journalists (ABRINJOR), and brought together students from the Journalism course, journalists and indigenous communicators in a space for dialogue about indigenous journalism in Brazil.
The Indigenous Journalism Writing Manual was officially launched on Aug. 10 at the Chamber of Deputies in Brasilia, in a historic moment for Brazilian journalism. Collectively constructed by indigenous journalists, the publication brings together guidelines for respectful, diverse and plural coverage of indigenous peoples, from their own perspectives, knowledge, cultures and realities.
"Poranga Marandúa emerges precisely to strengthen this path. It was developed by ABRINJOR from a collective construction that brought together indigenous journalists from different peoples and regions of the country, bringing their experiences and perspectives as indigenous journalists", highlighted Adriã Galvão, Master in Communication and representative of ABRINJOR.
In Roraima, the presentation of the manual takes on an even more important meaning, taking into account the growing number of indigenous students at UFRR and indigenous communicators in the communities. The Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR), an organization that represents 12 ethnoregions in the state, operates through departments, including the Department of Communication, formed by indigenous professionals, which trains the communicators of the Wakywaa Network, who work directly in different regions and indigenous communities in the state.
"The launch of the Manual is historic, it marks the past, the present and the future for us, indigenous journalists. It is a legacy that we leave to the newsrooms of traditional media and to journalism academics. The manual comes to strengthen our tool of struggle and our protagonism as indigenous journalists", said Helena Leocádio, CIR press officer.
According to Helena Leocádio, this presence within the territories is essential to ensure that the stories are told by those who really live them."Nothing about us, without us, as we always say. We, as the Communication Department, do training with indigenous communicators so that they can tell their own story, our reality told by us, not someone coming from outside to tell our story, as they always came", highlighted Leocádio.
According to the journalist, the proximity of indigenous communicators to the territories and leaders allows them to produce content based on the realities and perspectives of the peoples in their territories. Communication training has strengthened these professionals, expanding the domain of different tools to record and disseminate their narratives through photographs, videos, texts, social networks and other platforms that have become part of this communication. Through them, indigenous people themselves can show their realities, denounce violations, publicize mobilizations, strengthen their cultures and present to the public the knowledge and ways of life that have often been portrayed by the press from outside perspectives. In this process, the indigenous communicator no longer occupies only the place of source or character of a report; he also becomes a reporter, photographer, cameraman, producer and narrator of his own story.
For Journalism student Luara Sapará, "Poranga Maranduá" represents an opportunity to strengthen the narratives of indigenous peoples, in addition to contributing to students and future journalists understanding the importance of respecting different cultures and ways of living.
"It is important to have access to this type of manual, because we learn not only about journalism, but also about how to tell our own story. For a long time, we were characters in stories and today we can be journalists, and the manual brings these guidelines on how to produce or address indigenous peoples, respecting our diversity."
To communicate, for indigenous peoples, is to preserve memory, strengthen identity, defend the territory and ensure that their own history is not told by others, but by the people who live it, as summarized by Helena Leocádio:"Nothing about us, without us."
Photos: Caique Pinho, Ellen Lorrayne (UFRR) and Luara Sapará (Ascom/CIR)